Raw food vegetarians have lower bone mass

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Vegetarians who don't cook their food have lowered bone density, although their bones are healthy in other ways.
A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is a healthy one in many ways. But what if your diet contains few other foods? A team at Washington University School of Medicine studied 18 strict raw food vegans aged 33 to 85. They ate a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, sprouted grains and legumes, along with some olive oil, all uncooked.

They were compared with a group eating a more typical American diet. Those on the raw food diet had lower bone mass, suggesting a higher risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture. But they had lower levels of C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation and heart disease, and lower levels of IGF-1. High levels of IGF-1 have been linked to breast and prostate cancer. Despite not eating dairy produce, the vegans had higher vitamin D levels than those on an American diet. This may be because they made sure they had plenty of sunlight exposure.

In summary, the bones of vegans are lighter than they should be, but they seem to be healthy. More research is needed to see whether the low bone density will be associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis. The jury is out on whether the vegan diet is a healthy one - but many people could benefit from adopting at least some elements of it and substituting them for some of the less healthy components of the American diet.

Source
Archives of Internal Medicine 28th March 2005 Volume 165 pages 1-6